Top 10 Social HealthMakers

Conversations on the Leading Edge

Still feeling the effects of holiday overeating, or wondering how to kick-start your resolution to lose a few pounds (or more)? You’re in luck! Meet the dynamic individuals included in “SharecareNow 10: Weight Loss.” These bloggers, reporters, personal trainers, dietitians and bestselling authors are all driving meaningful conversations on how to lose weight the healthy way – and keep it off for good. Read on for more about the Top 10 Influencers. For more weight-loss tips, videos and advice, visit our Weight Loss Topic Center.

Liz Vaccariello is the editor-in-chief of Reader's Digest and the author of six New York Times bestselling books, including Flat Belly Diet!, The Digest Diet and the recently released Digest Diet Cookbook. A staple on the morning news shows Good Morning America and Today, Vaccariello has also appeared on Dr. Phil, The View, Katie, Live! with Regis and Kelly, Extra and two seasons of The Biggest Loser. In 2009, Vaccariello became a guest host on the Emmy Award-winning show The Doctors, where she talks on topics related to living a happy and healthy life.

Joy Bauer MS, RD, CDN is one of the nation's leading health authorities. She is the nutrition and health expert for NBC’s Today show, the author of several New York Times bestselling books, a monthly columnist for Woman’s Day and the exclusive nutritionist for the New York City Ballet. As creator of JoyBauer.com and host of the popular YouTube series What the Heck Are You Eating, Bauer continues to be a leader in developing and delivering fresh, cutting-edge health content. Bauer received her bachelor degree in kinesiology from the University of Maryland and a master of science in nutrition from New York University. Her mission is to help people lead satisfying and fulfilling lives--and she believes it’s never too late or too early to reap the benefits of healthy living.

Malia Frey is a professional health and fitness writer and certified personal trainer. She writes as the weight-loss guide at About.com, the Minneapolis Fitness Examiner at Examiner.com and as the blogger for North Memorial Medical Center's Healthy Weight Loss Program. She also provides freelance articles to other web sites, social media and print publications. Frey has been teaching and writing about weight loss, health and wellness and diet and exercise for more than 20 years. Her passion for good health inspires her to stay active and healthy and to help others do the same.

Cynthia Sass is an author, columnist and registered dietitian with formal culinary training and master’s degrees in both nutrition science and public health. She is the nutrition consultant to the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, a contributing editor at Health and a columnist for Tennis and Athletes Quarterly. Her latest New York Times bestselling book is S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches. Sass has appeared on numerous national television programs including the Today show, Good Morning America and Nightline, where she shares advice on health topics.

Tony Schober is a fitness blogger, certified personal trainer and the founder of Coach Calorie, a site providing health and fitness advice to individuals who share a passion for living a healthy lifestyle. Once used solely as a pen name, Coach Calorie is now a brand that prides itself on providing factual, evidence-based fitness advice to individuals that share a passion for living a healthy lifestyle. In addition to his work as a health and fitness expert, Schober also worked for the U.S. military in Kabul, Afghanistan, for five years.

Nanci Hellmich has been a life section reporter for USA Today for 30 years. Her coverage includes topics such as diet, nutrition, diabetes and fitness, concentrating on the latest research, trends and new ideas. Hellmich credits her significant weight loss 32 years ago with helping her transition into a health reporting career. She often writes about individuals who have experienced their own weight-loss success. She has held an annual USA Today weight-loss challenge for the last five years.

Veronica Noone is a “Healthy Living” blogger and the founder of numerous health and fitness web sites, including RonisWeigh.com, GreenLiteBites.com, FitBloggin.com, BlogToLose.com and more. Noone started her career as a health and fitness blogger to keep track of her own weight-loss progress. She is also the founder of SkinnyMinnyMedia, LLC, and her quotes on health have been featured in media such as CNN, Woman’s World, Woman’s Day and Wired.

Erika Nicole Kendall is the author and founder of “A Black Girl’s Guide to Weight Loss,” an award-winning blog dedicated to documenting Kendall’s weight-loss journey as well as providing health and fitness information to other women on their way to becoming happier and healthier. Kendall designed the site to serve as a place where women can come together and learn about themselves and their health. “A Black Girl’s Guide to Weight Loss” has been featured on NPR, Yahoo!, AOL, and in The New York Times, Essence, Health, Shape, The Huffington Post, Heart & Soul and other publications.

Diane Carbonell is the founder of FitToTheFinish.com, a site devoted to providing tips on healthy living, and the author of 150 Pounds Gone Forever, which describes her own battle with obesity. A blogger since 2009, Carbonell seeks to share her weight-loss expertise with local and national audiences. Carbonell has been featured in Shape and Woman’s World and various newspapers, in addition to appearing on The Dr. Oz Show and The 700 Club. She was also included in Shape's “Best Blogger Awards: 20 Inspiring Weight-Loss Blogs.”

Elementary school teacher Jennifer Swafford is the founder and author of “It Sux To Be Fat,” a blog where she shares her day-to-day experiences in losing more than 100 pounds. Swafford started the blog as a way to share her own weight-loss progress and to help motivate others to live a happy and healthy lifestyle. Fitness magazine recognized "It Sux To Be Fat" as a Best Weight Loss Blog of 2012.

Influencers included in “SharecareNow 10: Weight Loss” have demonstrated influence within weight-loss conversations online. Influence is calculated through a proprietary algorithm based on more than 70 distinct metrics, including disease-area relevance and online syndication, presence and reach. All metrics are based on content produced over the past year (from the list’s publish date) across multiple online channels, including Twitter, blogs, forums, mainstream news and video.

About

SharecareNow, powered by WCG, is the healthcare industry’s first and only digital platform offering real-time analytics on patient healthcare trends, conversations and influential authors. The service offers clients access to a suite of tools, research and social media analytics to identify the channels, conversations, authors, article sources, themes and terms most relevant to healthcare brands and organizations online and in real time.